Seven BJP MPs withdrew their Delhi High Court petition for the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme after the new government assured its execution in the first cabinet meeting. The MPs had previously argued that Delhi was the lone union territory without the scheme, which affects underprivileged citizens by limiting their healthcare access.
New Delhi: Seven BJP MPs on Tuesday (Feb 11th) withdrew their petition from the Delhi High Court seeking the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in the national capital. The decision came after the newly elected Delhi government assured that the scheme would be implemented in its first cabinet meeting.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora noted that the petitioners no longer wished to press their plea. The counsel appearing for the MPs stated,
“I am withdrawing the petition as the new dispensation in Delhi has promised to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the first cabinet meeting.”
The petition was filed by Harsh Malhotra, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Praveen Khandelwal, Yogendra Chandolia, Manoj Tiwari, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, and Bansuri Swaraj. They had argued that Delhi was the only union territory yet to implement the scheme, depriving the underprivileged of health coverage of Rs 5 lakh.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had expressed shock that the city government had not accepted financial aid under the Centre-funded health scheme despite its struggling healthcare system. The court remarked that
“the central scheme was just an aid being given to a particular segment of citizens and steps must be taken to iron out the differences within the Delhi administration.”
The petitioners stressed that political clashes must not hinder public welfare, arguing that the lack of implementation forced many citizens to borrow money or sell assets for medical treatment.
According to the petitioners, 33 out of 36 states and union territories have already implemented the scheme, with Odisha actively considering its rollout. They also highlighted that former Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia had committed to implementing the scheme in his 2020-21 budget speech, but the plan was later “arbitrarily and unreasonably” abandoned.
With the new Delhi government’s assurance, the petitioners decided to withdraw their plea, hoping for swift action on the promised implementation of Ayushman Bharat in Delhi.
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